An "indecent” book banned in 1971 has been seized from a Wellington bookstore by government officials.
Bloody Mama by Robert Thom has been listed for sale on Book Haven's website for $8.50 since February, store owner Don Hollander said.
"It got seized today. A very nice chap from the DIA [Department of Internal Affairs] with a fancy badge came by.”
The book is based on a true story about Kate "Ma" Barker who raised her sons to be criminals in the 1930s.
"I had a quick look through for the dirty bits or the nasty bits and it didn't see any,” Mr Hollander said.
The book was deemed indecent and banned by the now defunct Indecent Publications Tribunal 40 years ago, however the ruling still stands. The tribunal was replaced by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in 1993.
According to the Dominion Post, 1304 books are currently banned in New Zealand. Titles include:
Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture (8th edition)
Death Scenes, A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook
The Giant Black Book of Computer Viruses
Why Was He Born So Beautiful and Other Rugby Songs
Professional Killers, an Inside Look
Improvised Munitions Black Book (volume one)
Can't say I have ever read any of those -- and I suspect I am not missing a thing.
Unlike Don Hollander, owner of Book Haven in Newtown, Wellington, and past-owner of what sounds to be a very tame biography indeed.
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